Sheboygan County economic development: What's the end game?

From left: Dane Checolinski, Mary Motiska, Jim Schuessler and Sara Spicer represent the core Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation team.(Photo: Courtesy of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation)

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of economic development-related articles and columns running this week in coordination with National Economic Development Week and the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation.

All non-profits should try to eliminate the reason why they exist in the first place.

The Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) is a non-profit. Our mission is to improve the economic well-being of our businesses, residents and communities within the county.

The economic vitality of the community has certainly been improving. According to the Federal Government, Sheboygan County’s Median Family Income rose by an astonishing 8.3 percent over the past year while the US mustered only 5.7 percent growth. The median family is now earning $74,700 per year in our community.

For companies, number of people working has been increasing faster in Sheboygan County than any other MSA in the state. I’m pleased to report Sheboygan County is one of only two MSA’s where the number of workers increased by over 2 percent from 2016 to 2017. This increased number of people working is helping grow our local economy and is facilitated in part by recent housing development. It is making a difference in people’s lives.

With wages and number of people working on the rise, where is the SCEDC focused?

The answer is we are focused toward our county’s long-term future. We know several things. First, the Great Recession affected people in Sheboygan County worse than most due to our heavy concentration of manufacturing. Thus, diversification of our economic base through growing local firms concentrated in other fields must be part of our long-term strategy.

Second, we know Sheboygan County, like most of the Midwest, is aging. Unless we take steps to grow our workforce numbers, our 65+ year old population is expected to increase by over 70 percent in the next two decades, while our working age population is projected to flatten-out. This means fewer wage earners paying for our essential government services, thus higher taxes per person in the future.

Finally, we know that people are far more mobile than in the past and their choice of community is more persnickety than previous generations. Housing and amenities must match their expectations, not ours.

The focus of the SCEDC’s work on entrepreneurship, including start-ups, is intended to diversify our economy and livability. Family-owned businesses have been the backbone of Sheboygan County’s economy for 150 years. We need to make sure it is our future. This will mean supporting an ecosystem that encourages innovation, vetted risk-taking and encouragement of breaking some norms.

Livability aspects include the development of new housing, retail and of course ensuring jobs and economic opportunities are available for individuals with different skill sets and experiences.

Will the SCEDC be able to eliminate the reason why it exists? Probably not, but we will keep trying. Expectations of workforce, boom and bust cycles and an ever evolving county will likely necessitate an organization that wakes up everyday thinking only about how to enhance the economic well-being of its residents.

The part that keeps me smiling is realizing the county has come such a long way from the Great Recession and in many ways realized the power of working together.

Through a can-do attitude, persistence and best-practices, we are confident that Sheboygan County will remain vibrant for generations.

Dane Checolinski is the director of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation.